Ian Kirkpatrick

My new public art commission, Renaissance, was installed this April in the Knight & Willson building on Leeds South Bank.  The artwork presents a ‘mind map’ of the South Bank area, remixing images of its past, present and future, and was commissioned by Leeds City Council.  The mural is created from 32 digitally printed Dibond panels with a total surface area of 1700 square feet.  The artwork is part of a major regeneration of the Southa Bank/Holbeck area. Click here for more info

I’m currently working with Dutch agency Arttenders on a mural commission for the lobby of the new Amstel Tower in Amsterdam.  At 100m in height, Amstel Tower will be one of Amterdam’s tallest new buildings.  Developer Provast is commissioning me to design a large work inspired by Peter Alma’s famous murals (located in next door Amstel Station).  The finished piece will be hand-painted in traditional mineral paints by Reclameatelier Leo Mineur.  Click here for more info

My sculpture series The Stars Which Know No Destruction was recently purchased by the University of Southampton as part of the Department of Archaeology’s 50 year anniversary celebrations.  The artworks are now part of the University’s collection and are on permanent display in the foyer of the Archaeology building. Click here for more info.

My First World War-themed sculptures were on exhibit at The National Archives in Kew, London, from 4 October 2016 to 23 April 2017.  The seven pieces, which focus on the unique role graphic design played in the Great War, were displayed in a “sculpture trail” through the Archives.  The sculptures were originally created during my Leverhulme Trust-funded residency with Leeds Museums and Galleries. Click here for more info

I was invited by the editors of Independent Leeds magazine to design the cover of their summer 2016 edition, featuring a modern-day myth about revolution and uprising in Leeds. Drawing inspiration from ancient Babylonian legends, along with children’s stories and sci-fi films such as Metropolis, my piece explored how we can liberate ourselves from “the machine” and reclaim power in contemporary society.  The inside cover and inner pages also featured new illustrations I created specifically for the magazine. Click here for more info

I was recently interviewed by Anqituipop about the classical references in my sculptural and 2D artwork.  Edited by Fabien Bièvre-Perrin, Antiquipop is based in Lyon, France, and explores the references to antiquity in contemporary pop culture.  Click here for the full interview in English (or click here for the French version).

My new work ‘Altarpiece’ is currently on display at St. Edmunds Church, Leeds, as part of the William Blake-inspired exhibition ‘And Did Those Feet’ from April 29 to May 25.  The large-scale piece is made of Dibond, vinyl, hinges and wood.  Please visit the exhibition website for opening times.

My sculpture ‘BLAST’ (2015) was recently exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in Manchester.  It was showcased as part of the ‘First World War: Commemoration and Memory‘ conference on February 26-27.  BLAST was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and was created as part of my residency with Leeds Museums and Galleries, resulting in a city-wide sculpture trail across Leeds, entitled ‘A Graphic War’.

The culmination of my Leverhulme-funded residency with Leeds Museums and Galleries, ‘A Graphic War’ is a sculpture trail that opened across Leeds this November. Featuring artwork at four venues – Leeds City Museum, Trinity Leeds, Leeds Markets and Colours May Vary – the exhibition explored the role of graphic design at home and on the front lines during the First World War.  The exhibition was covered by the BBC, Yorkshire Evening Post, and the Times Colonist (Canada).  All four sculptures are currently on exhibit at Leeds City Museum and can be viewed during opening hours until mid May.  Please click here for more info.

My newest exhibition, “Immortals”, was just launched at MOSTYN, Wales’ leading contemporary art gallery.  The sculptures are on display in MOSTYN’s showcase space from June 1 to August 31. Please click here for more info.

I’m very excited to announce that I’ve received a Leverhulme Trust Artist in Residence Grant to work with Leeds Museums and Galleries.  From February until late 2015 I will be working with curator Lucy Moore to investigate the strategic role that graphic design played in the First World War. Exploring the Leeds Museums and Galleries collection, our collaboration will focus on design as a communicative, emotional and logistic tool and will examine its influence on life both at home and on the front lines of the battlefield.

The residency will culminate in a new body of artwork, which is set to be presented in a city-wide sculpture trail across Leeds during November 2015. I will also work closely with the Preservative Party, a local youth curatorial collective, to develop designed products inspired by First World War.

I’m honoured to have been selected as an AA2A+ Artist in Residence with York College, in partnership with York Art Gallery’s Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA). Over the next 3 months I will be creating work in response to the gallery’s collection (the world’s most extensive and representative collection of British Studio Ceramics) in advance of the gallery’s re-opening in summer 2015.

My project, Reincarnations, will explore the packaging and storage of the gallery’s Studio Ceramics collection during their recent renovations. My sculptures will use the actual cardboard boxes employed during this storage process, recycled and transformed into 3D shapes inspired by the ceramics they once contained. I will then collaborate with students from York College to craft accompanying ceramic pieces that interlock into the cardboard forms, providing both decorative and structural elements. The resulting artworks will occupy an uncertain hybrid space between ceramics and sculpture, between artwork and packaging – and between that which contains, and that which is contained.

The title Reincarnations alludes to the transformative use of materials within the sculptures, while commemorating York Gallery’s recent metamorphosis. It also refers to the strong influence of Zen Buddhism upon the development of Studio Ceramics.

From 28 November to 30 November I opened an online “pop-up shop” featuring my brand new series of giclee and silkscreen prints, modular mini sculptures, and Xmas ornaments.  It was the first time I’d experimented with selling my work online, and I was really happy with the response.  I had lots of support from the UK and Canada – and even some orders from New Zealand, USA, and Hong Kong.  Later in the new year I’ll hopefully re-launch the shop on a more permanent basis.  In the meanwhile I’d like to say thanks to all who checked it out & especially to those who supported my work over the 3 days the shop was open!  Click here to visit the pop-up shop.

I was invited by the curators at Juju to participate in this year’s Showcase Spectacular.  They hosted an amazing 2 day event across the weekend of 22-23 November, featuring local and national artists and makers.  I presented a solo exhibition of my work, including various ‘packaged prints’ (see image above), giclee prints, and my large-scale cardboard sculptures.  For more info please click here.

I was one of several artists commissioned by Woolgather Art to produce a large series of small artworks that could be sold out of vending machines across Leeds.  By placing the machines in public venues such as shopping centres, bars, cafes and at public events, Art Vend offers the general public an art experience amongst everyday life, with the hope of reaching people who may not usually engage with the arts.  Click here for more info.

East Street Arts hosted its Open Studios the weekend of October 25-26.  My space at Patrick Studios, Leeds, was filled with my cardboard sculptures and saw lots of traffic.  It was a great experience, with a particular highlight being a visit from the Contemporary Art Society.  Click here to read more.

My wall-based piece “Oracular Spectacular” was on display this October at Access Space in Sheffield as part of the PLAY! exhibition.  PLAY! explored the influence of video games on contemporary art, and featured work by artists across the UK including: Sonny Barker, Michael Borkowsky, Benjamin Davies, Angela Hardwick, Sharon Haward, Jamie Hodges, Rita Kaisen, Ian Kirkpatrick, Julien Masson, Daniel McCabe, Kaety Moon, James Moore, Sharon Mossbeck, and Sally Sheinman.  Click here for more info.

My sculpture series The Stars Which Know No Destruction was commissioned by East Street Arts and funded by Leeds City Council for the Tour de France Grand Depart on July 6.  The life-sized sculptures were inspired by Leeds City Museum’s egyptology collection and were displayed in window fronts along the tour route, part of East Street Arts’ Tour de Social event.  Click here for more info.

My newest large-scale sculpture Sentinel was unveiled as part of the Access All Areas Festival in Accrington this June.  Commissioned by Accrington Academy under the artistic direction of Jez Dolan, Sentinel was a continuation of my interest in fantasy imagery merged with packaging design.  My 2012 sculpture Playboy of the Western World was also exhibited at the Festival.  Click here for more info.

My new sculpture Gnome (Welcome to Ground Zero) was exhibited as part of the ‘Down to Earth with the Fairies’ exhibition in London at W3 Gallery, curated by Martin Lau.  The exhibition featured work by UK and international artists including: Sveva D’Antonio, Amy Dignam, Antonella Ferrari, Alina Gavrielatos, Jack Jones, Sequin Kay, John King, Ian Kirkpatrick, Daniel Lane, Sheila Moylan, Fred Mugford, Ariel Oniria, Cereinyn Ord, Rachel Pepper, Joanne Roberts, Mariya Ustymenko, and Simon Welch.  Click here for more info.

Luxury department store de Bijenjkorf hosted several of my artworks in their window display during May/June in Rotterdam. The solo exhibition, curated by Sophie Bargmann of ABABA Gallery, featured my packaging-inspired sculptures alongside textiles and designs by Vlisco.

Several of my packaging-themed sculptures were on exhibition as part of Hard Candy at the House of ABABA Gallery in Rotterdam.  The show featured work by six Dutch and international artists including Ian Kirkpatrick, Early Mast, El Cumbone, JAWGEM, Pet Van de Luijtgaarden, and ROTGANZEN.  Click here for more info.

I would like to say thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts for their support of my work via a 10-month Project Grant for Visual Artists, which I have now completed.  Their funding made possible several large new sculptural works (including the two most recent ones, above) – all of which have been exhibited within the UK or abroad as part of solo and group shows.

Prototype was on exhibit at ENJOY art space, Leeds, during November 2012.  This solo show featured new work created as part of my Canada Council for the Arts Project Grant, including Radiant Child and Anubis (pictured above).  The opening night also showcased music performances by Matt Miles Dixon, Honeychild Coleman, and Gateway of Trance Illusion.  Click here for more info

In November 2011 I spoke about my work at the ‘Comic Art and Sculpture’ conference, hosted by the Henry Moore Institute.  My paper was titled From Classics to Comics: Hero, Myth and Narrative in Contemporary Sculpture, and was presented at the Leeds Art Gallery on November 16th.  More details will be posted soon.

I was selected as July’s Maker of the Month by The Making (www.themaking.org), to coincide with the unveiling of my new sculpture, Vessel.  The artwork was commissioned as part of the Festival Makers Award I received earlier this year.  Click here to see the feature and the accompanying interview with Diana Woolf.

My digital artwork, Genesis, which I created in collaboration with fellow artist Julien Masson, was recently selected as Digital Artist’s online Image of the Week.  The image was spotlighted in the magazine’s February edition (Issue 17).  This and other images can be found on our collaborative blog, Artsim.

My project, titled Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger was selected by Solent University, Southampton, as part of the Creative Campus Initiative, sponsored by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.  The final work was displayed as part of a larger solo exhibition (also titled Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger) at the Concourse Gallery in Southampton, curated by Millais Off-Site Projects… [Read more]